1. I look like a lop-sided chipmunk .... everyone asks me if I have cotton stuffed in my right cheek. Sigh. I'm gonna have to punch someone.

2. Had conference with oral surgeon today - will remove what's left of the molar Friday morning (letting the swelling/inflammation from the aborted root canal procedure go down while I build up my antibiotic levels) & insert a bone graft under laughing gas -- for an implant surgery in 2 months. Since it's the last molar in the row, I can't get a bridge or partial for it.

2. Had conference with oral surgeon today - will remove what's left of the molar Friday morning (letting the swelling/inflammation from the aborted root canal procedure go down while I build up my antibiotic levels) & insert a bone graft under laughing gas -- for an implant surgery in 2 months. Since it's the last molar in the row, I can't get a bridge or partial for it.

Sigh .... I'd kill to chew something crunchy!

I HATE TEETH!!!

Yeah. My ex had to have all his teeth removed at age 16. Ouch. Had a pair of dentures that worked well for him, but by age 59 the bone beneath had atrophied away to near nothing (something about not the same stress on it as with real teeth). So he had bone replacement plastered in there too. Spent 9 months eating mostly soft stuff, but learned to smoosh food against the roof of his mouth with his tongue. He was able to eat a surprising number of things that you wouldn't expect.
Hope your ordeal is much easier than that! But I can ask for tips if you need long term help. Hope you don't!

I hate it too. I had some extensive work done on my teeth some years back (paradontosis) and I had to go to the dentist for 4 weeks in a row, every day= 20 appointments. That was by far the worst time of my life. I felt like a zombie.

My biggest worry since dumping my job has been health care. I finally went ahead and got a high deductible policy that basically only covers catastrophic stuff. I only have a 'discount' dental plan but my teeth are in reasonable shape. No vision coverage at all so I just skipped my scheduled eye appointment. but again my eyes are not horribly bad....

The health care system in this country sucks....we should have national health care for all given the friggin' outrageous government spending....but no....we can spend billions on ..... oops .... to be continued in the secret political section....

I once had an infection under a huge amalgam. The only way for the pressure to be released was to go through the root canal. Even though in my mid-twenties, that night saw me crawling to my mum's bed and then laying down all crying and shaking. I woke up with a jaw that could have been mistaken for a guinea pig's. To top it off, I had to wait for the antibiotics to work before the dentist could do anything.

And I guess even with that I don't even start to understand what poohbear is experiencing

Since it's the last molar in the row, I can't get a bridge or partial for it.
(

Er..... These days there is a new method being used (inside my mouth as I type) for partials for the back molars. I am using a two-tooth model on the top right and a one-tooth model on the bottom left. Both are for the most rearward molars, and very secure. And instead of the old-stlye "bar across the mouth" that was used for partials in the past, the new ones use a plastic that grips the two teeth forward of the space as well as wrapping around the gum line. VERY comfortable, no 'sticky glue' needed to hold them in place, and very natural looking, even if used for more frontal teeth. I just did a Google search, but could only find the old style with the bar across the pallet. But ask your dentist about these if you don't want to go the implant route. I've been using them for the past two years, and have nothing but good things to say about the way they feel and work.

Fortunately, Japan's medical coverage extends to dentistry as well, so the costs were considerably reduced. Even so, these damn things are pricey!

Are you referring to a cantilever bridge? With one attachment point? This was presented to me - but not highly recommended as there is a high rate of them snapping off.

Or has Japan advanced their dentistry beyond the US?

I just did an Image search for 'cantilever tooth bridge' (I did 'cantilever bridge' first, but I don't think we need to span a river...) but didn't see what I was talking about. Lemme do some Photoshopping....

OK... I cut this down from a double-sided partial. Imagine this but with only the last two molars. I don't know why, but it's very secure. In two years it's never felt as if it were loose.

My biggest worry since dumping my job has been health care. I finally went ahead and got a high deductible policy that basically only covers catastrophic stuff. I only have a 'discount' dental plan but my teeth are in reasonable shape. No vision coverage at all so I just skipped my scheduled eye appointment. but again my eyes are not horribly bad....

The health care system in this country sucks....we should have national health care for all given the friggin' outrageous government spending....but no....we can spend billions on ..... oops .... to be continued in the secret political section....

The health care system isn't the only system in this country that sucks (*coughlaborlawscough*). But we had to do the same thing, go to a insanely high deductible catastrophe only policy, because the lower deductible one we had DOUBLED in payroll deductions and we just couldn't afford it. This one also no longer covers preventative care. So I'm hoping that until one of us gets a job with better benefits, that we don't get sick or break anything!

The health care system isn't the only system in this country that sucks (*coughlaborlawscough*). But we had to do the same thing, go to a insanely high deductible catastrophe only policy, because the lower deductible one we had DOUBLED in payroll deductions and we just couldn't afford it. This one also no longer covers preventative care. So I'm hoping that until one of us gets a job with better benefits, that we don't get sick or break anything!

Yep. That's exactly where I am, until I change policies, get a 'real' job with healthcare, get covered by medicare or universal health care.....otherwise....